Snake Venom Ch 56

Chapter 56

-Team Leader, where are you?

“I’m almost there….”

Cheon Wooshin, who had been checking the navigation, suddenly trailed off mid-sentence.

Out of nowhere, a scene with no identifiable source flashed through his mind. Trembling nape, quivering lips. The breath held in silence was hot. From someone who neither held him back nor pushed him away, a tiny voice leaked out.

~‘No, not where it can be seen.’~

“…….”

Cheon Wooshin blinked. It was far too unrealistic and lascivious to be called a memory fragment. Who, in their right mind, would be doing such things with him and pleading so pathetically?

Since being poisoned by snake venom, Cheon Wooshin had strictly refrained from sexual contact with others. He was afraid they would discover his secret. Afraid he might lose control and do something unintended in a fit of arousal. Someone who had been entangled with him that closely? Even if it were a dream, it was repulsive.

-Team Leader?

Unable to bear the silence any longer, Im Sehan called out to him. Cheon Wooshin finally responded.

“Five minutes out.”

It was a fragment of consciousness so murky and vague that its origin couldn’t be traced. At least for now, with urgent matters happening back-to-back, it was unnecessary enough to ignore. Cheon Wooshin composed himself, quelling the brief ripple of disturbance.

Their car entered a luxury residential neighborhood. As they climbed the neatly arranged alleyways, several vans parked below high walls came into view. Sturdy men stood around the vehicles, and among them was Im Sehan. Upon spotting their car, Im Sehan bowed deeply from the waist.

“Welcome.”

From the moment of greeting, Im Sehan had a rather serious expression. He immediately led Cheon Wooshin and Lee Yeonwoo toward a house. The thick gate was already open. As they ascended the stone steps, he spoke.

“We’ve reviewed all the surrounding CCTV footage, but there’s no sign of anyone leaving. The statements from the security staff here match as well. However… no matter how much we search, we can’t find him.”

As soon as he received Joo Doyeong’s coordinates, Im Sehan had formed a private team to raid the site. A forceful entry had already been authorized. As soon as the entrance was secured, they began a full sweep of the interior.

After subduing the ten external security guards by force, the internal staff complied without any need for further coercion. They were asked about the whereabouts of CEO Park. Every single one replied that after he had gone to bed, they knew nothing more.

“I’ll ask once again. Where is he?”

From behind Cheon Wooshin, who was absently scanning the lawn, Im Sehan replied with notable firmness.

“I already used that method myself.”

Although the testimonies were consistent, these people were hired by CEO Park and could easily have reported and witnessed only what he wanted. Assuming they had already coordinated their stories, Im Sehan had judged that ordinary methods wouldn’t work. So he had interrogated two managers — one responsible for internal, one for external affairs — a bit more roughly. Though he usually favored humane methods, he too was a former soldier who had followed Cheon Wooshin through numerous battlefields.

Cheon Wooshin raised an eyebrow. It seemed unexpected. But his eyes soon settled into a calm gaze.

“If they still won’t talk, I’ll try once more. Where is he?”

“There’s probably no place left to hit.”

This time, Im Sehan had steeled himself to be ruthless. He had long been teased by Jung Sooho for being too soft-hearted.

“Even better.”

But Cheon Wooshin went one step further. Im Sehan shook his head.

“This way.”

Leading them deep into the building, Im Sehan guided them through the living room and down to a lower level. The basement floor, dimmer than the upper levels, housed a garage and quarters for the staff. A team member standing guard at the end of the hallway saluted Im Sehan upon seeing him. It was a space used for housing the security staff.

“Join the others upstairs.”

At Im Sehan’s command, the team member gave a light nod and headed upstairs. Im Sehan opened the door.

As Im Sehan and Cheon Wooshin entered one after the other, the eyes of two tied-up men flashed sharply toward them. Gagged, their rough breathing burst out in agitated huffs. Their eyes, wide open, brimmed with fury and indignation.

Just as Im Sehan had said—there was no room left to hit. Their condition was a mess. Seated on chairs with their hands tied behind them, their wrists were chafed and bleeding from the rope, and their faces were marred with bruises and blood. Judging by their sweat-slicked foreheads and napes, they had likely attempted an escape.

The moment Im Sehan removed one man’s gag, the already contorted face exploded with rage.

“Hey, you fucking bastards! Are your ears plugged?!”

“You…”

Im Sehan’s expression hardened. That he was still this defiant after such a beating was astonishing.

“You call this work—beating people like this? What makes you any different from gangsters, huh?! Fucking using the law as a cover to beat and threaten people—this is what you do best?! I’m going to remember all of this!”

While Cheon Wooshin remained calm amid the scathing criticism, he asked Im Sehan,

“Is this man the internal manager?”

“No, the one next to him is.”

As soon as he heard the answer, Cheon Wooshin glanced behind him. His eyes met those of Lee Yeonwoo, who had been hesitantly pacing near the door, unable to find his place. Just moments ago, Yeonwoo had seemed lost and bewildered, but now his eyes sparkled as if to say, ‘Do you need anything?’

“Lee Yeonwoo-ssi, wait outside with him.”

“Oh, okay.”

Even as Im Sehan and Lee Yeonwoo exited and the door closed, the man’s angry complaints continued to pour out.

“I told you everything I know, damn it! What, just because you’re cops you can do whatever you want? Oh no, you’re not cops—you’re fucking thugs! I’ll report all of you! I’ll sue every last one of you!”

Cheon Wooshin, in one long stride, stood right in front of the man. The man shouted up at him with furious eyes.

“What, fucker, you gonna hit me too? Go ahead! You son of a bitch, hit—”

Crack! A chilling sound of shattering bone echoed through the square room. The man’s head twisted as if his neck had snapped.

“Guh!”

The shock and pain hit him hard and late, too intense for him to even groan properly. As he struggled for breath, blood dripped from his mouth. Amid the bright red streams, several white fragments fell to the ground.

The internal manager stared at them in horror, lips trembling unconsciously. Into his frozen ears came a dry, indifferent voice.

“We’re not police.”

The internal manager lifted his gaze. A noble, handsome face was outlined against the light. Inhumanly dry eyes slowly closed beneath the lids, then opened again. And when those eyes met his own, the internal manager began to tremble violently.

The hands of the man who had beaten them first had been fierce, but not like this. Even having worked under President Park and witnessed countless acts of cruelty, the manager had never experienced this kind of fear and oppressive force. A gaze so cold it did not regard humans as human. Terror and dread surged forth. Just witnessing someone else being beaten felt like a preview of death.

Cheon Wooshin flexed his wrist as he looked down at the man trembling like a leaf.

“Think again.”

A gentle glow flickered in his calm eyes.

“About what else you might know besides what you’ve already said.”

He addressed the internal manager. His hand remained clamped on the neck of the man who had just been howling. With a slight squeeze, the man’s sagging head snapped backward. His completely ruined face was now clearly visible.

“There must be something.”

Expressionless, Cheon Wooshin pulled his arm back. It marked the beginning of a brutal act, layering violence upon violence. Bloodshot veins swelled in the eyes of the internal manager, who was forced to witness it all. The sound of bones breaking into pieces dug into his frozen ears.

Not long after Im Sehan and Lee Yeonwoo left the room—just a few minutes later—the sound of terrified sobbing began to emerge.

“The second-floor study! Yes! It’s on the second floor. Look at the bottom of the leftmost bookshelf—there’s an air freshener there. If you twist it, the locking mechanism releases and the shelf swings open. There’s a door behind it. The password is…! Aagh! Please spare me! I know! I really do!”

Thuds echoed continuously, like a sack of rice being beaten. Wherever he was being struck, the internal manager’s wailing grew even louder—almost to the point of weeping.

Im Sehan immediately relayed the location and password of the room over the radio.

“It’s true, really! That’s the only exit. There’s no other way out—I swear! I’ve worked here for five years, ever since the place was built. There’s no way out except that! I—I swear on my mother… No, on my balls! I swear! Please, I’m begging you. I was wrong. Just spare me… Agh!”

In the end, the internal manager started bawling, calling for his mother. Im Sehan, with his back to the sobbing, gave a small cough.